The Waking

 Below are the meditation notes I wrote after a recent one-hour ‘meditation’.  I’m aware that there is a risk of misleading new meditators with this one because it could be taken as implying that a state of inner silence or ‘no-thought’ is something to pursue or aim for and having that as an aim is not a good idea. For one thing that tends to create a future orientation and it’s generally better to be focused on the present moment. Also, some people think that they are doing something wrong when thoughts pop up. If it helps clarify the point, there are times when plenty of thoughts pop up in my mind while I’m engaging in some kind of meditative practice. That’s fine. I suggest you try just noting that a thought (or emotion, or whatever) popped up and watch it fade and leave… Anyway, I decided that it would be good to include this one because inner silence does sometimes happen so here are the notes I wrote shortly after the ‘meditation.’ – start Intention: None – the silence s...

In 2021 I published an academic article intended for new meditators. It was about: What can happen in meditation? What is it like? Where can it lead? And I added a brief mention that the experience may not be beneficial to everyone – how come and who should be careful? I’ve put a link to my original academic article at the end of this blog post, if you want to read the whole thing. And I hope that this post is more accessible than the academic article. At the start of that article I summarised the benefits of meditation and the reasons people do it, including: improving health and well-being improving self-understanding and  awakening or achieving enlightenment (however you think of that)…  To reach many of the benefits you have to meditate a while, at least several weeks or longer. However some, such as awakening permanently or having awakening experiences, can be experienced at any point, from the first time you meditate or at any time thereafter! So afte...

An attempt to describe an experience of awakening on 24th January 2023: I walked into the living room, into a ray of sunlight Stop There is conscious awareness There is beingness There is silence or silent presence There is no ‘I’ or ‘me’ There is no time Such awakening experiences can come at any time and in any circumstance. With practices such as meditation, yoga, qi gong etc. the ‘me’ or surface mind may become quieter, but there is no one-to-one connection between practice and experience. I had a very profound experience the very first time I meditated over 40 years ago and then nothing for the next couple of years as I tried to repeat the experience! However, as the mind becomes quieter, there are likely to be more experiences of silent presence, whether you are formally practising or not. Awakening moments happen when conscious awareness detaches from the surface self and all of its activity - thoughts, emotions, memories and so on. This enables consciousness to observe and expe...